This copy is for your personal non-commercial use only. To order presentation-ready copies of Toronto Star content for distribution to colleagues, clients or customers, or inquire about permissions/licensing, please go to: www.TorontoStarReprints.com

Time to take ‘bold climate action,’ B.C. businesses tell premier

VANCOUVER—The multimillion dollar outdoor gear company Arc’teryx has a lot to lose in the face of climate change. With global manufacturing facilities and thousands of jobs at risk, the company is one of many calling on Premier John Horgan and the private sector to take “bold climate action” that they say will also be an investment in B.C.’s economy.

On Thursday, 40 B.C. businesses, including Arc’teryx, issued a joint open letter to Horgan outlining how climate change is threatening their bottom line. The letter calls for “strong” climate policies by the government that offer “a once-in-a-generation opportunity for B.C. to create jobs,” while also encouraging innovation and reducing waste.

These companies include Hootsuite, Nature’s Path Foods, Earnest Ice Cream, Mountain Equipment Co-op, Lush Fresh Handmade Cosmetics and many more. Together, these businesses employ more than 11,000 workers and have more than $3.4 billion in combined annual revenues.

Along with the letter, the businesses announced the launch of the Business Coalition for a Clean Economy — a network of companies “that believe building a clean economy … is key to ensuring B.C.’s future prosperity in a rapidly changing world.”

Drummond Lawson, director of sustainability at Arc’teryx, said the company sees how climate change directly impacts its business in the form of people’s changing outdoor habits.

YOU MIGHT BE INTERESTED IN...

“Any threats that we see to people being able to get outside and ski, or hike, or run, or climb, or do the activities that forms the basis of this sector is a threat to the growth within it. For us, we can see very clearly the risks to air quality in the summer and the reduced snow pack trends in the winter are a very real ceiling for the viability of our company building gear for those activities,” said Lawson.

The company also has concerns about the threat of rising sea levels in countries where they have manufacturing facilities, including China, Myanmar and Bangladesh, which poses a risk to the livelihoods of the factory workers, Lawson added.

The joint letter urges Horgan to put forth policies that “spark clean innovation and fuel demand for low-carbon goods and services,” support the efforts of small and medium sized businesses to reduce carbon pollution and “take concrete steps” to protect communities from the impacts of climate change.

The Thursday gathering comes just two days after the federal government approved the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion. Although the letter is not related to the contentious decision, Nature’s Path Foods is one of the companies in the coalition that has publicly opposed the pipeline in the past.

YOU MIGHT BE INTERESTED IN...

When built, the Trans Mountain expansion would triple the capacity of the existing pipeline and result in a sevenfold increase in tanker traffic to the terminal in Burrard Inlet.

“Our position on the pipeline hasn’t changed,” said Jyoti Stephens, vice-president for strategy at the Richmond-based company that sells organic breakfast foods.

“We believe that the best way forward is to invest in renewable energy, to invest in clean infrastructure for a resilient future, for generations to come.”

Stephens added signs of climate change like drought and severe weather patterns are affecting the family farmers that supply their ingredients, threatening the livelihoods of the farmers and the company.

“We see this only getting worse in the absence of meaningful political, environmental and economic change.”

Get more of today's top stories in your inbox

Find everything you need to know about what's happening in Vancouver in our Morning Headlines newsletter.

Nature’s Path Foods is also making changes toward becoming a more sustainable business, Stephens added. One of their initiatives includes having all packaging be either recyclable, compostable or reusable by 2025.

The coalition is also inviting other B.C. businesses to join the network.

More Vancouver

Top Stories

More from The Star & Partners

Copyright owned or licensed by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or distribution of this content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Toronto Star Newspapers Limited and/or its licensors. To order copies of Toronto Star articles, please go to: www.TorontoStarReprints.com